I think I might be a bit wobbly in my corona moral - young people’s moral functioning during the COVID-19 lockdown: a social representations approach

Holm- Christensen, Sarah and Gleibs, Ilka H. ORCID: 0000-0002-9913-250X (2023) I think I might be a bit wobbly in my corona moral - young people’s moral functioning during the COVID-19 lockdown: a social representations approach. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 64 (4). 527 - 542. ISSN 0036-5564

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Abstract

In this paper, we use social representations theory to examine how young people made sense of COVID-19 and the emergent behavioral guidelines during the lockdown in Denmark in Spring 2020. Further, we discuss how this informed their moral functioning. This research is explored through triangulation, investigating how COVID-19 was represented in central speeches by Danish leaders (N = 4) and by young people in focus groups (n = 5, N = 25) and individual interviews (N = 10). Results suggest that young people's moral functioning during COVID-19 depended on multiple, often polemic, representations. Consequently, their moral functioning was found to be an ambivalent practice, resulting in coping strategies of adaptation to their surroundings and othering fellow citizens deviating from the guidelines. In this context, coherent communication by authorities and community values are identified as key to promoting behavior change. As the social impact of COVID-19 is unprecedented in many societies, including the Danish, this study contributes to the field of emerging infectious diseases providing insights that are essential for the continued management of this and future pandemics.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14679450
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author(s).
Divisions:	Psychological and Behavioural Science
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Date Deposited:	09 Jan 2023 12:09
Last Modified:	15 Apr 2024 21:33
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/117808

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